Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is determined to get the rest of them up and running as quickly as possible.

On staffing, there is ongoing recruitment of 375 personnel across the country.

Let me give a sense of how challenging that has been. My figures will not be exact. From a briefing note I read earlier this morning, I believe about one third of the target was met in the first year that the number in question was allocated. I am saying this just to give colleagues a sense that the money is available and that the posts have been sanctioned, but it is proving difficult to hire the therapists. Obviously, we are working on expanding the number of graduate positions and the number of graduates coming through.

In addition to these actions, the Department has agreed to funding of €1.5 million for approximately 1,000 ASD diagnostic assessments. The HSE has said that initiative is now under way. Regardless of any process that the HSE considers to address the concerns over the standard operating procedure, the developments I have mentioned will enhance the capacity of the CDNTs. It is expected that the measures will translate directly into enhancing services to the child and his or her family.

Regarding section 13 reporting, which was also raised, the HSE has presented annual reports for 2007 to 2014 to the Department of Health and is currently working on the annual reports for 2015 to 2020 to bring the process up to date. The HSE intends to submit the outstanding reports by the end of the year. The HSE and officials in my Department are scheduled to meet shortly to discuss the section 13 reports in greater detail. While the HSE has stated it has experienced delays due to the cyberattack last year and found limitations in the assessment officer system database, which was referred to earlier, the lack of reporting cannot be deemed acceptable. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, has sought assurances on the nature of the statistics and has been advised that the delay has not affected the HSE's calculation in establishing additional resources.

I assure this House and all colleagues that the Government is as determined and committed as ever to providing timely access to high-quality health and social care services for children and young people who need them. This includes appropriate assessment and the right interventions. We now have an opportunity that we must grasp. We must focus relentlessly, invest, and prioritise to give the children the assessments they need and the therapeutic interventions and supports they need following those assessments.

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